I Promise
by theYada
Summary: One brother fights Fate to help keep a promise that he made. My entry for the TIWF 2015 Promise challenge. Chapter 2 is the rewritten version (thanks for all the feedback guys :D )


**AN  
The end of it really needed sorting. Yes the outcome changed but I couldn't see a way for the girl to be found realistically (alive ir dead) under the sheer amount of rubble from a fallen skyscraper.**

Shock.  
Numbing, paralysing.  
It's like a freight train slamming into your body at full speed, only you unable to move or escape from it. All I can do is stand rooted to the spot and watch as cracks snake across the building. Dust rains down, choking everything surrounding the once mighty skyscraper.

"Gordon you need to move."

 _I promise._

The phrase bounces around my skull but it does nothing to break me from my frozen stance. The roaring of the freight train fills my ears, muffling the yelling and shouting.

 _I promise I'll find her._

Then move! Fulfil that promise! I'm screaming at my own body, trying to move but I can't seem to make my limbs obey. I'm stuck here mesmerised by the pieces of paper fluttering down to earth. Just watching as the building takes an age to fall. Just watching. Not helping. Then the scream of a child cuts over all the noise.

 _I promise I'll find her. I promise._

Another scream, louder and somewhat more panicked, slices through the air and before I know what I'm doing I'm hurtling straight towards it. I'm not going to fail her. Failure's not an option – never give up at any cost. There's a dust cloud looming over the streets, particles tumbling over one another as it advances towards the fleeing onlookers. And I keep running right at it. Somebody calls my name, their barked order dripping with concern and laced with worry.

 _I promise I'll find her._

I mean it. I will find her. I will, I will, I will. I chant to myself as I run – as if it's just another gruelling training session from my childhood swim meets. Faster, faster, faster! I never was the runner of the family. I stumble; force myself to continue, all the while dodging rubble and terrified civilians. Don't give up. Fulfil that promise. An image of the girl's mother fills my mind – her once trim skirt covered in grime, wisps of hair sticking out at odd angles. Even now I can feel her nails digging into my arm and I can see her eyes burning with an intense pleading as if she were right here beside me. Begging for my help even as she was dragged away.

 _I promise._

And I promised I would help her because how could I possibly refuse? International rescue refuse to save somebody? Only now I realise that I must do everything I can to keep that promise. This isn't a promise to wash the dishes before Grandma gets home, or to be nice to my brothers. A life depends on me keeping this promise. The life of an innocent child who did nothing to be put in this situation. I focus solely on the building, everything else in my vision blurs. The building is taunting me, there's no way I can make it in time. I _have_ to make it in time. Never give up at any cost.

 _I promise._

Strong arms suddenly catch me around the middle and start pulling me aside – away from the danger. Strong, brotherly arms clad in blue. Then a voice, gentle yet commanding, tells me it's too dangerous. That there's nothing we can do until it falls. But I promised. The arms wrap a little tighter and the voice murmurs something about not wanting to lose me. At least I'll die trying to save another. That's when the building finally gives up its fight against gravity.

 _I promise._

I've failed. I start struggling, fighting the restriction. Maybe I can find her before she suffocates under the rubble. Maybe I can still keep my promise to her mother. Finally I break free and start running. Pieces of grit sting my face and dust obscures my vision but I refuse to give up.

 _I promise._

Without warning I am tackled, sent sprawling across the ground winded and more bruised than before. Before I can struggle to my feet Scott has pushed me back down, shielding me from the deadly cloud of dust just as it engulfs the world around us. All the while I'm cursing in a way that would have Grandma wash my mouth out with soap. Slowly, the restraint lessens until I can pull free of its grip.  
Everything around us is blanketed with grey, rendering the once busy street almost completely unrecognisable. The fallen skyscraper has obliterated the area surrounding it. A single, dreadful roll of Fate's dice and it's all gone.

 _But I promised._

That freight train rushes by again – once more locking me in place. How can I possibly hope to find her and keep my promise after this? Around me people are struggling away from the devastation but I feel as though I'm watching them from behind a glass wall, alienated and somehow not part of it. The overwhelming sense of failure kills any hope that I had left. As I drop to the floor I let my eyes lock with Scott's – my unspoken question is answered by his steady gaze.

We can't save everyone.


End file.
